it will be interesting who the odd man out will be, the useless Leonard Pope or the youngster David Paulson?

Steelers’ Saunders to Return after Week 5

by SteelBlitz

When Weslye Saunders was handed his fine it was stated as a four week suspension for a positive drug test. Following the positive test the general consensus was that Saunders would be available following week 4 and would only miss 3 games due to the bye week for the Steelers in week 4. The NFL has now contacted the Steelers and Saunders and let them know that he will not be allowed to return until week 6 of the season.

It is believed that Saunders positive testing came from using Adderall to combat ADD. Adderall is an approved drug in the NFL, but a player using it must have notified the NFL of their use. Saunders had not notified the NFL and has been suspended for the positive test. He is not the only player to have served a suspension for testing positive for taking Adderall. One other player who had been suspended for using the drug won an appeal to have his suspension overturned; Saunders was not as lucky.

During the off-season Saunders fought the suspension without much luck. He will return to the team for their week 6 match-up in Tennessee on Thursday Night Football. His status on the team currently is on the suspended list which means he does not count against the 53-man roster. It is believed that when he is added to the roster that back-up tight end David Paulson will be cut and that the Steelers will try to sign him to their practice squad.

Saunders is more of a pass catching tight end and will provide one more weapon in the passing game for Ben Roethlisberger, who is already off to a career year passing the ball. The Steelers will also hope that Saunders blocking skills at tight end may help some in the running game.

Per NFL rules players serving a suspension are unpaid. Therefore Saunders will miss paychecks during each week of his suspension. He should, however, only have to lose 4 paychecks as the extra week (due to the bye week) should not affect his pay. Other players serving suspensions will only miss four weeks of the season and will be eligible for their teams in week 5.

http://network.yardbarker.com/nfl/ar...eek_5/11836369

Fire Arians

10-01-2012, 04:38 PM

i have high hopes for saunders. hoping he gets his act together and produces, double TE sets could be lethal with him and miller on the field

FrancoLambert

10-01-2012, 06:43 PM

Another weapon for Haley and Ben.
Maybe Ben will have a completion with 11 different players next week. :sofunny:

Saunders is the team's second tight end, it's highly likely either Leonard Pope or David Paulson will be released.

The image I have is second-year tight end Weslye Saunders stalking around the entrance of the South Side facility like a caged animal. He's more than ready to break his league-imposed vow of silence with the team, and re-join his team in the short week of work before taking on the Titans in Week 6 Thursday.

Roughly around the same time the building opens, they are likely to announce the release of a player to make room for Saunders on their active roster. (Update: Post-Gazette reporter Ed Bouchette noted the Steelers are able to request a roster exception this week, meaning, Saunders can be activated and can play in Thursday night's game, but they will not have to release a player to do that. He doesn't explain why they're able to make the request, or if they even did, but if they're able to, they certainly would have.)

The decision seems far less dramatic than that, however. The fact rookie David Paulson, and not Leonard Pope, served as the team's No. 2 tight end in a 16-14 victory over Philadelphia in Week 5 speaks for the situation.

Pope's release four games into the 2012 season seems imminent, making Paulson - the fourth 7th round draft pick to make the Steelers active roster since 2009 - a permanent member of the team.

And he did it with grit. Cutting his teeth on special teams, Paulson got his first career catch in Week 5, an eight-yard completion on 1st-and-20, the first positive play on the Steelers' nine-play, 51 yard drive that resulted in Shaun Suisham's game-winning field goal.

It seems un-Steeler-like to back up veteran Heath Miller (who went his first game without a touchdown reception in Week 5) with a second-year player and a rookie, but Pope hadn't exactly shown the kind of solid play expected from a veteran. He wasn't wretched, but Paulson showed his athleticism - a category in which the rookie leads by a healthy margin - on his reception, and has continued to grow with each passing game.

If anything, maybe Saunders should be worried about Paulson's development. As for the here and now, expect the Steelers to announce Pope's release whenever they will need to trim the roster.

i have high hopes for saunders. hoping he gets his act together and produces, double TE sets could be lethal with him and miller on the field

To play devil's advocate for the kid, he is on Adderall (for ADHD). Jonathan Dwyer is on the same meds, but Dwyer informed the NFL... thus, Dwyer did not get suspended. The amphetimine portion of the drug triggers the NFL's drug testers, but as long as they know that you are on ADHD meds BEFORE they test you, you are good to go.

And, Yes, he & Heath would be leeethal!!!

maddog78

10-09-2012, 08:51 AM

In two TE sets, one of Wallace, Brown, Sanders, or Mendenhall comes off the field. For a guy with a handful of career catches?

And when is Rainey going to get some touches? I'd rather try to get him the ball than Saunders.

Fire Haley

10-09-2012, 12:25 PM

Dump the Pope

Fire Arians

10-09-2012, 12:40 PM

In two TE sets, one of Wallace, Brown, Sanders, or Mendenhall comes off the field. For a guy with a handful of career catches?

And when is Rainey going to get some touches? I'd rather try to get him the ball than Saunders.

red zone = more big targets = good

El-Gonzo Jackson

10-09-2012, 01:06 PM

And when is Rainey going to get some touches? I'd rather try to get him the ball than Saunders.

They tried a couple times on Sunday, but Rainey seems to fall down in a game of 2 hand touch. The kid is going to have to earn his touches somehow as so far Dwyer has been more productive with the ball in his hands than Rainey.

tony hipchest

10-09-2012, 01:15 PM

...and dwyer was inactive sunday.

as for wes, i think he may have ADHD, but he doesnt have a perscription.

the story i read was that his brother does have a prescription and he took some of his brothers pills on a trip to vegas.

either he wanted to stay up real late and party, or he didnt want the overwhelming distraction and loss of focus from all the bright lights, sexy women, booze, and dollar bills raining in strip clubs.

:hunch:

Darkstorm05

10-09-2012, 01:23 PM

Yea, I just don't see how this could be true if he had a legit script. When the league calls and says "So about this drug test result..." you fax them your legit doctors note, and everyone is happy. Why would they suspend someone for being on doctor prescribed drugs?

And even saying he had to notify them first...ok, but 4 full games for a slip in paperwork protocol? Sounds fishy.

Hawaii 5-0

10-09-2012, 09:22 PM

October 9, 2012
By Ed Bouchette / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Roster decision

The Steelers roster exemption for returning tight end Weslye Saunders expires at 4 p.m. Friday, Tomlin said, and it did not sound as if rookie tight end David Paulson would be the one to go.

"I think the big thing is he's proven that it's not too big for him," Tomlin said. "He's an attention-to-detail guy. He works hard. He's been a productive player for us in special teams and that's not something that we underscore when you're talking about an offensive guy from the tight end position. He's been a multiple special teams phase participant."